The Architect struck again.
Its enormous claw slammed into the glowing barrier surrounding the Heart of Balance with the force of a collapsing glacier. The impact sent a deafening crack across the clearing.
The barrier bent inward.
Light flickered violently across its surface.
Thin fractures spread like lightning through glass.
Teren yelped and ducked.
"That shield is not winning this fight!"
Caelum gritted his teeth as he forced more power into the barrier. Frost spiraled wildly around his arms, trying to reinforce the failing shield.
"It will not hold much longer," he warned.
Aeralyn didn't hesitate.
"Then we stop it before the next strike."
Golden warmth ignited around her hands.
Rovan stepped beside her, spinning his spear once.
"Well," he said, "time to climb another mountain."
Lysa fired two arrows in quick succession. Both streaked across the clearing and slammed into glowing runes along the Architect's shoulder.
The runes cracked slightly.
The giant turned its head toward her.
"…I think I annoyed it," she said calmly.
The Architect lifted its enormous wing.
A blast of frozen wind erupted outward.
The force knocked Rovan and Aeralyn backward across the snow.
Ice shards tore through the clearing like flying knives.
Teren threw up a weak barrier of magic in front of himself.
"Oh no, no, no—"
The wind slammed into him anyway, sending him tumbling into a snowbank.
The Architect stepped forward again.
The frozen ground shattered beneath its claws.
It raised its arm for another strike against the Heart.
Aeralyn jumped to her feet.
"Rovan!"
"I see it!"
The warrior sprinted forward, leaping across broken chunks of ice scattered across the clearing.
The Architect's claw began to fall.
Rovan planted his spear into the snow and vaulted upward.
He landed against the giant's forearm just before the claw reached the barrier.
"Hey!" he shouted.
"Big ice monster!"
The Architect paused.
For the briefest moment.
Rovan drove his spear into one of the glowing runes along its arm.
The rune shattered.
Cold energy burst outward like cracking lightning.
The giant recoiled slightly.
That small movement saved the barrier.
The claw missed the shield by inches and slammed into the snow instead, blasting ice in every direction.
Aeralyn raised both hands.
Golden fire surged outward in a powerful wave.
The blast struck the Architect's arm where Rovan had shattered the rune.
Ice fractured across its armor.
The giant roared.
The sound echoed through the forest like a living storm.
Rovan clung to the creature's arm, gripping his spear tightly as the Architect shook violently.
"Little help getting higher!" he shouted.
Aeralyn understood instantly.
She thrust both hands forward again.
A column of blazing warmth shot upward beneath Rovan.
The burst of heat created a rising surge of air.
Rovan rode the sudden lift like a gust of wind, launching himself higher up the Architect's body.
He landed hard against its shoulder.
"…That worked!" he yelled.
Below him, the glowing core rune on the creature's chest pulsed brighter.
Aeralyn pointed.
"Rovan! The chest!"
He looked down.
"Yeah… that's a long way down."
The Architect twisted its body suddenly, trying to grab the tiny figure climbing across its armor.
Rovan leapt again, barely avoiding the massive claw.
He slid down the creature's chest and slammed his spear toward the glowing core rune.
The weapon struck the rune with a thunderous crack.
But this time it didn't shatter.
Instead, the rune flared violently.
A shockwave exploded outward.
Rovan was thrown off the giant's body like a falling stone.
"Rovan!" Teren shouted.
Before he hit the ground, Aeralyn blasted a burst of warmth beneath him.
The heated air slowed his fall just enough for him to crash into the snow instead of solid ice.
He groaned.
"…Okay… that one hurt."
The Architect raised its wings again.
Cold energy surged across its body.
The cracked rune on its arm slowly began repairing itself.
Aeralyn stared in shock.
"It's healing."
Caelum stepped forward slightly, still maintaining the weakening barrier.
"The Architect was designed to repair itself using the mountain runes."
Lysa fired another arrow.
The shot struck the chest rune again—but the glowing symbol absorbed the impact without cracking.
"That core is stronger than the rest," she said.
The Architect lifted both wings.
The storm above the valley darkened once more.
Snow began swirling violently around the clearing.
Teren looked up nervously.
"Why do I feel like the weather is about to kill us again?"
The Architect roared.
A spiral of freezing wind formed above its wings, gathering into a massive storm vortex.
Ice lightning crackled within the swirling clouds.
Aeralyn felt the Heart of Balance flare behind her.
Warm energy surged through her body again.
Stronger than ever before.
She turned toward Caelum.
"The Heart is responding."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"It's lending you its power."
Rovan slowly stood up again, brushing snow from his armor.
"Well," he said, gripping his spear tightly.
"If we're going to fight the architect of winter…"
Aeralyn's golden magic blazed brighter around her hands.
"…then we bring the heat."
The Architect unleashed the storm.
A massive tornado of ice and wind tore across the clearing toward them.
The ground cracked.
Trees snapped.
Snow exploded into the air like white fire.
Aeralyn stepped forward.
The Heart of Balance pulsed behind her like a rising sun.
Golden light erupted from her hands.
Warmth met winter.
And the valley exploded into battle once again.